I wish there were more expositions like the one held in Seattle in 1962. Going under the name Century 21, it showcased the best, brightest and most future minded technology available at the time - including pagers, exciting cars that looked like they could fly, various satellites and the NASA Mercury project to name a few. The grounds of the fair were divided into different areas for easier navigation with names such as World of Science, World of Century 21, Show Street, Gayway, Boulevards of the World, Food and Favors and so on. I love how the photos below bring out the innocence and positive future thinking from that time, something that the world needs more of today I think. Additional Century 21 goodness after the jump.

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Sorry for the absence, been keeping my self busy with different things. Nevertheless, today we are returning to the World's fair held in Seattle in 1962. Going under the title Century 21, this is one of my favorite expositions next to the one that was held in New York two years later. Here are a couple of photos from it to better illustrate my point.

I have two favorite World's Fair expositions. The first one being the 1962 held in Seattle, also known as Century 21, the second one is the fair that was held in Queens, New York in 1964. It was the largest World's Fair ever hosted, and the theme for it was "Peace Through Understanding". This was represented through a huge model of the Earth called the Unisphere which still stands there today. Like the fair in Seattle in 1962, this fair was mostly remembered for its mid-century American corporate culture, bright plans for the future and space age design. It was also the place where Walt Disney created and tested his system for audio-animatronics which was used for several rides on the fair, i.e. Ford's Magic Skyway and General Electric's Carousel of progress.

More than 50 million people from all over the world visited the fair, but the fair had proven to be too costly and was not able to repay its financial backers. The fair closed permanently in 1970, however some of the buildings and pavilions survived. The most famous one is the Unisphere which has become a symbol for Queens.

The Seattle World's Fair in 1962 with the theme Century 21 has to be the coolest fair ever! Go from downtown Seattle on the monorail, speeding along high above the streets of Seattle. The fair was home of the Space Needle, one of the most famous Googie architecture landmarks in America, it still stands there today if you want to visit it. It was also home of the Bubbelator science ride, which took up to 150 people in a transparent sphere with the eerie space music of Attilio Mineo playing in the background. Do not forgot to take the Gayway and visit the Swedish exposition for a bite of their famous Smorgasbord.